Burrowing Owl Centre fundraiser held at Exhibition grounds
The 26th annual Burrowing Owl Night at the Exhibition grounds featured fun and owls to raise money for the centre.
Two of the dozen or so captive owls at the Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre (SBOIC) were taken through the audience of 160 people by their handlers.
Smiles lit up the faces of old and young alike, as they petted the cuddly little endangered species. The two owls they petted were raised by humans and are accustomed to being around people. The same owls are used by SBOIC’s education program on tour at schools in southern Saskatchewan.
The night’s entertainment involved cheer demonstrations by the 30-member all-girl Infinity Cheer Athletics Team. Their cheer routines and awesome tumbling wowed the audience. Magician, ventriloquist and comedian Doug Arden performed on stage with audience participation.
The annual dinner and auction is part of the fund-raising program to maintain the centre on the Exhibition grounds.
The centre was established in 1997 as a refuge for lost and injured burrowing owls, and to protect the few owls left in the city on the racetrack in-field.
Since then, burrowing owls, once common in the north end of Moose Jaw no longer nest here, as their habitat has been developed. Visitors to Moose Jaw used to drink coffee in the Heritage Inn restaurant and watch the owls on the strip of prairie between the hotel and Main Street.
The Saskatchewan burrowing owl population has declined by 94 per cent since the 1980s. The remaining 500 to 800 pairs in this province represent most of Western Canada’s 1,000 pairs.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net